📈 Democrats and abundance: A Quick Q&A with … tech policy expert Adam Kovacevich
'I don’t think there’s going to be an “abundance” candidate — but instead I’m hopeful that mainstream Democrats start incorporating some abundance ideas into their governing agendas.'
My fellow pro-growth/progress/abundance Up Wingers,
Both this newsletter and my Conservative Futurist book argue that to solve our most pressing challenges, America must embrace an optimistic, risk-embracing approach to technological progress and economic growth.
Importantly, this perspective transcends the traditional left-right divide, focusing instead on innovative solutions grounded in quintessentially American values of freedom and opportunity. Where Down Wing pessimists see only threat in technological advancement, the Up Wing vision champions a dynamic future in which progress benefits all citizens. Stagnation is the true existential danger facing modern society.
Adam Kovacevich asserts that Democrats have historically been a strong pro-technology force. In parallel with the rising center-left “abundance” movement, Kovacevich’s policy work is rallying more Democrats toward what I’d consider Up Wing thinking.
Kovacevich recently posted his “personal manifesto for being a Pro-Tech Democrat in 2025” on X. I asked him a few quick questions about his ideal near-term strategy for boosting techno-optimism to the Democratic party.
Kovacevich is the founder and CEO of center-left tech policy coalition Chamber of Progress. His 20-plus years in the tech industry includes his recent position as head of North America and Asia Pacific government relations for Lime. He also led Google’s US policy strategy and external affairs team.
. . . we should want to look at blue cities as beacons of light and examples to follow.
1/ What do you make of the Ezra Klein, Derek Thompson abundance movement? Does it have legs on the left or is it confined to left-center pundits?
It’s probably the most optimistic policy movement that I’ve seen since the optimism of Obama’s first term. And even Obama-era “hope and change” optimism was more about Obama’s personal appeal rather than a set of unifying ideas. Abundance isn’t confined to the left; there are clearly pro-abundance factions on both the left and the right. But as a Democrat, I’m particularly excited about the left-side abundance faction because I fear my party has lost sight of cost of living issues, and mismanaged the blue cities and states that our party controls — and we should want to look at blue cities as beacons of light and examples to follow. Abundance policy provides a roadmap to better governance. I don’t think there’s going to be an “abundance” candidate — but instead I’m hopeful that mainstream Democrats start incorporating some abundance ideas into their governing agendas.
Many Republicans criticized Biden’s “jawboning” of online platforms over speech standards, and then have turned around to do the exact same thing on a much larger scale under Trump.
2/ What Trump administration tech policy moves would you be most excited for or nervous about?
I’ve been really glad to see Trump end the counterproductive SEC lawsuits against crypto firms, and support the issuance of clear crypto regulations instead. Vice President Vance was absolutely right to push back on Europe’s protectionist tech regulations, just as Obama pushed back on earlier EU regulations. It disappointed me that Biden’s team was actually jealous of Europe’s tech laws, even as those laws have strangled competition and degraded users’ experience. What I’m most nervous about is Trump’s FCC and FTC launching wars against online platforms’ First Amendment freedoms to moderate their platforms as they see fit. Many Republicans criticized Biden’s “jawboning” of online platforms over speech standards, and then have turned around to do the exact same thing on a much larger scale under Trump.
Biden’s war on tech . . . spectacularly failed to achieve its stated goal of winning back working class voters.
3/ What should we apply from the Obama administration that differed from Biden’s approach to tech?
Obama saw the tech industry as a partner. He brought companies in and asked them to help advance his Administration’s goals of increased Internet access, and he listened to the industry’s concerns about issues like encryption. Biden always viewed tech with skepticism — initially because he wanted to distance himself from Obama’s legacy, but later because he ceded tech policymaking to Elizabeth Warren’s allies. But ultimately Biden’s war on tech was a “double own-goal” from a political perspective: it drove some tech industry people into the Republicans’ arms in 2024, and it spectacularly failed to achieve its stated goal of winning back working class voters. In fact, the last Democrat to win the working class vote was Obama, whom many on today’s left despise.
I want Democrats to think more about the normie voter . . .
4/ Given the importance of environmental groups on the left, where is/are the left/Democrats on clean energy abundance, especially in as much as it will require deregulation?
Nearly all mainstream Democrats profess to be clean energy supporters, but when it comes time to actually build the new facilities that will make our grid greener and cheaper, they are overly deferential to the Sierra Club and environmental justice groups. The reality is that those groups are often paper tigers, either representing few real people or being used cynically by NIMBYs. I want Democrats to think more about the normie voter who doesn’t show up at city council meetings but just wants their power bill to stop rising. We celebrated Governor Josh Shapiro when he suspended environmental review processes to rebuild I-95; that should be a sign that the environmental laws are now being misused too often to obstruct progress.
I don’t think you’ll see most Democrats becoming vocally “pro-tech” but I would like them to move away from tech doomerism.
5/ How should pro-tech Democrats respond to the Silicon Valley MAGA shift?
First, the Silicon Valley MAGA shift is overstated. Excluding Elon Musk, four-fifths of Silicon Valley “megadonor” donations went to Harris in 2024. Eighty-eight percent of Big Tech employee donations went to Harris versus 12 percent for Trump. And Harris carried the Bay Area with three-quarters of the vote. Trump made small gains for sure, but there wasn’t a massive Valley shift towards Trump.
In terms of the future, I’m spending a huge amount of time on helping Democrats become a tech-optimist party again. We’re not going to return to the honeymoon era of Obama’s closeness with the tech industry, but nor should we continue the estrangement and cynicism of the Biden era. I don’t think you’ll see most Democrats becoming vocally “pro-tech” but I would like them to move away from tech doomerism. Most voters appreciate how tech has made their lives better, and Democrats should reflect that.
The way to restore tech optimism is for people to experience these benefits in their everyday life.
6/ How can we encourage a techno-optimist public narrative and discourage doomerism, especially in a way that appeals to left-of-center Americans?
Technology has helped achieve a lot of progressive goals, and I think it would be smart for Democrats to see tech as a partner in advancing their agenda rather than treating it as an enemy. Airpods can now be used as hearing aids. Starlink is bringing the Internet to remote locations. Amazon delivers almost anything to your door in a day or two. Autonomous vehicles don’t drive drunk or distracted. The way to restore tech optimism is for people to experience these benefits in their everyday life. Ultimately, tech doomerism is no match for technology-driven delights.
On sale everywhere The Conservative Futurist: How To Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised
Micro Reads
▶ Economics
What’s behind Japan’s High Government Debt? - St. Louis Fed
▶ Business
ASML’s boss has a warning for Europe - Economist
▶ Policy/Politics
Can the Left Do ‘Abundance’? - WSJ Opinion
Ford Is as American as Apple Pie. Or Is That Honda? - Bberg Opinion
▶ AI/Digital
▶ Biotech/Health
Autism’s missing women - Aeon
▶ Clean Energy/Climate
▶ Space/Transportation
▶ Up Wing/Down Wing
Faith, Freedom and the Long Thread of Technology - WSJ Opinion
▶ Substacks/Newsletters
The AI Market Ecosystem - Conversable Economist